Portable air compresser

[BuckeyeDennis]

That little palm nailer in the photo caught my eye right away. I didn't know that such things existed.

HD is selling the same one for $25, and it has glowing 5-star reviews. I sure could have used it a couple of weeks ago on a home-improvement project. I was trying to toe-nail blocking between two closely-spaced joists, and eventually gave up. So I ordered one of the little guys on the spot.

[dgale]

That little palm nailer in the photo caught my eye right away. I didn't know that such things existed.

HD is selling the same one for $25, and it has glowing 5-star reviews. I sure could have used it a couple of weeks ago on a home-improvement project. I was trying to toe-nail blocking between two closely-spaced joists, and eventually gave up. So I ordered one of the little guys on the spot.

I have a carpenter friend who swears by his palm nailer - uses it all the time for nailing between joists, blocking etc. as you noted and says it's one of his favorite tools. If I remember correctly, it has a magnetic head and you can put any type of nail in it you want (ie it doesn't require pnuematic nails). I saw the same nailer package on Amazon and elsewhere for about $10 more but it did not include the palm nailer, so between that and the Costco return policy, I figured this was the way to go. I'm not so sure how useful the storage back will be, especially when you're supposed to cram five nailers in there. In an ideal world I liked the Senco type nailers that each come in a plastic storage box, but at ~$150-$200 each for something I'll use only for my personal needs, I figured I'll give the Freeman ones a go for a way cheaper price. Seemed like they got good reviews on Amazon etc.

[dgale]

I like that air compressor. Good design, metal in all the places that need to be protected.

Have a hose picked out yet?

For hoses, I grabbed one of these at Harbor Freight yesterday with a 20% off coupon:

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-hoses/100-ft-x-38-heavy-duty-premium-rubber-air-hose-69579.html



I figured this would get me going - does this seem okay? I figured all rubber construction was good (?). Also curious when one chooses 3/8" hose vs. 1/2" hose? I was going to get the 1/2" version as I figured bigger 'pipe' is better but then I realized all the standard fittings are for the 3/8" hoses and I'd have to get adapters for both ends to make it work - am I missing something here?

[frank81]

For hoses, I grabbed one of these at Harbor Freight yesterday with a 20% off coupon:

http://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-hoses/100-ft-x-38-heavy-duty-premium-rubber-air-hose-69579.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/media/cata ... _21665.jpg

I figured this would get me going - does this seem okay? I figured all rubber construction was good (?). Also curious when one chooses 3/8" hose vs. 1/2" hose? I was going to get the 1/2" version as I figured bigger 'pipe' is better but then I realized all the standard fittings are for the 3/8" hoses and I'd have to get adapters for both ends to make it work - am I missing something here?

A bigger pipe lowers PSI, and a larger volume of pipe (length and diameter) creates more unregulated space that needs filled, lowering PSI and flow. Meaning you're compressor will stop and think its full, but when you use the tool the pressure drops to fill the hose.

For a nailer, those small blue coiled hoses are great. If you want something more substantial, stick with harbor freight and get the shortest, narrowest BLACK rubber hose they sell. It's Goodyear and suprisingly out of place in HFT. 25 ft and 3/8" or less. Buy your fittings and quick connects elsewhere though. Those hard plastic type hoses are frustrating to work with.

[dgale]

I like that air compressor. Good design, metal in all the places that need to be protected.

I was sold in part by the great reviews it got compared to other compressors, as well as, I have to admit, being lured by by that snazzy blue paint job. I also really liked the examples of homemade caddies some folks posted on Amazon:









I especially liked the chopped down hand truck caddies with the hose reel added on...I'd have to buy a six pack for a welder friend to get it chopped and then repaint it but it seems like a pretty useful setup.

[dgale]

Well, I hit my first snafu with the new compressor set-up. I took the new compressor out of the box and first thing I noticed was the plastic cover over one of the pressure gauges was cracked - not a functional problem but it's brand new and I want it to look good at least until I do something stupid like that, so I called up Makita and they promptly said they would send me a replacement pressure gauge (the entire assembly) "one time free of charge" - I'm not sure what the 'one time' part is all about but I figured I'd argue that with them if/when something else went wrong.

At that point, I returned to the compressor, added oil as described, ran it with tank open for 20 min as a break-in procedure as described, and then closed the tank valve to fill it up and use it. It proceeded to run for probably 15-20 min without ever exceeding 20-30lb, so I knew something was wrong - this 'bog bore" compressor should fill up both tanks in <1 minute. I shut it off and could hear a leak. I checked around and it was the valve that kicks the comressor on/off when it hits the max pressure...I could feel air leaking out of it, so I fiddled with it a bit and it stopped leaking. I then turned the compressor back on and it again ran for 15+ minutes and this time got to about 45lb of pressure and just kept running. I shut it off and no audible leaks this time. When running, I noticed it had a steady stream of air coming out of the vent hole on the oil filler cap - I assume this is a vent to purge any blow-by gas that gets by the piston rings, so pressure doesn't build up in the crank case (?)...the fact that a brand new compressor has any blow-by, much less enough to create a steady stream of air out of a vent hole told me this thing must have bad compression for one internal reason or another.

At this point, of course it was too late to call Makita back since they close at 6pm EST and I'm on PST, so I just went back to Amazon and filled out an online return form. To their credit, it was a simple process and they are sending me a new one 2-day air and I have 30 days to return the old one - this is a big improvement in their return policy over a few years ago when you had to return the item first and then wait for the new item to be shipped.

Anyway, always a bummer to have a new toy not work and hard to believe how something like this gets boxed up and sold without the proper testing, but I guess that's the fate of Made in Taiwan items...I'm guessing a Made in the USA compressor wouldn't have had such issues.

[cincinnati]

I have this compressor for my nail guns. Works GREAT!

http://www.amazon.com/Senco-PC1010-1-Ho ... ords=senco.

[BuckeyeDennis]

I have this compressor for my nail guns. Works GREAT!

And it looks more manly, too! (That much said, I will now defer to DB5 for further enlightenment on the use of phallic symbols in product design and marketing. )